2 weeks ago
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Alice Cooper has announced that a new guitarist by the name of Anna Cara will be joining him on the road.
Cooper’s longtime guitarist Nita Strauss is currently on maternity leave awaiting the birth of her first child with spouse Josh Villalta. Cara was hand-selected by Strauss as her replacement during this time.
Strauss is expected to return to the band at the end of her maternity leave, although no date for that has yet been announced.
Cooper stated, “Nita found a brilliant British female guitarist to fill in for her while she is on maternity leave. Anna Cara is a beautiful dynamic shredder in the vein of Nita but with a style of her own.”
Strauss added, “When I was asked in an interview who I thought was the best up-and-coming guitarist, I had no hesitation in answering ‘Anna Cara.’ Anna’s precision and soulful, emotional playing will make her an amazing asset to the Cooper tour!”
Anna Cara, age 22, has built a strong online following for her guitar playing on Instagram, leading her to working with Marc Storace of Krokus and Tommy Henrikson, known for a number of bands from ’80s underground metal band Warlock to Alice Cooper’s band for the past 15 years.
Anna said of the opportunity, “This is like a dream come true, to join Alice and his great band. Back when I started playing guitar at 14, I was watching Alice Cooper live shows on YouTube dreaming of joining one day! Nita Strauss is a tough act to follow, and she’s been so encouraging to me this past month, so I am looking forward to showing everyone who I am and what I can do.”
Cara will make her debut with the Alice Cooper band during the April 2-4 “Welcome to Our Nightmare” shows in Las Vegas, performed as a collaboration with magician Criss Angel. She is also slated to take part in both the US and European legs of the “Alice’s Attic” tour, as well as another run of “Welcome to Our Nightmare” shows in May. You can find tickets for those here.
Watch Anna Cara performing Megadeth’s “Tornado of Souls” on guitar below.
English (US) · 